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New Challenges

I've got many a friends who religiously chase "tail numbers" ( this is the registration of the aircraft) to further their collections of tail numbers.

The desire to photograph and note down as many different aircraft as feasibly possible in a life time. That means the smallest planes to the largest planes and everything in between.

I must admit it's never caught my attention a great deal as I've mostly been fascinated with the photography aspect of aviation.

It's not that I'm bored of photography, I most certainly never will be but I'm in search of another dimension/ challenge to the hobby.

As I get older and more involved in the hobby, I'm starting to come around on the idea of chasing "tail numbers".

The Challenge!

What if I could photograph every active aircraft in the world?

Well besides the fact that's going to be near impossible (everything's possible!) that's going to take a lot of time and money.

So lets start off a bit smaller..

What if I could photograph every Airbus in Lufthansa's fleet?

This is definitely an achievable target. A few days at Munich and Frankfurt on a spotting trip and I could achieve this.

So lets think bigger..

What if I could photograph every aircraft in Emirates's fleet?

Definitely achievable! A week at Dubai, few days in other major airports around Europe and I'd have this covered.

So lets think bigger again..

What if I could photograph every 777 in active service?

I think I could get 95% of 777's in active service. I'm sure there are some aficionados out there who would champion at the task of doing this.

And bigger again..

What if I could photograph the entire fleet of the ten biggest airlines?

Now we are talking, this will take some serious planning, time, patience, will and money. It's an achievable target but one I can do. A seriously mammoth task! One that will most likely take years to achieve but once conquered sure to gain appreciation from your peers.

To do this we are going to need a super aviation database.

Once we have raised some capital we will be purchasing and implementing what will be the worlds most comprehensive aviation database.

Stats, Stats, Stats!!!

We want to be able to provide a statistical overview for users where they view this kind of data. A true breakdown on your data so you can analyze your photographic trends. For example, you would easily be able to look at a graph and see that 75% of your photos are of 747's, 20% are of 737's and 5% are of A320's. Another graph might show 40% of photos are from Australia, 40% from America and 20% from Spain. We want you to be able get better statistics about your photos.

How many aircraft have I photographed of this airline? How many Airbus aircraft have I photographed? Have I photographed all of Jetstar's fleet?

I know this functionality will entice me to chase more "tail numbers" - does it entice you too?